Some 100 statutes of Buddha have been stolen or lost in Luang Prabang province over the past five years, according to a 2009 investigation report by the province's Heritage Department.

That Luang temple and Vat Si Phouttabath have suffered the largest losses.

The report stated about 16 statues had also gone missing from Vat Xiengthong, one of the oldest temples in the province.

Luang Prabang Provincial Heritage Department Deputy Director, Mr Bounkhoung Khouthao, said most of the statues were stolen in 2006, with most thought to have been crafted in the 14th century.

The stolen pieces were made of wood or bronze and were taken from 42 temples in the town of Luang Prabang .

"Unfortunately the thefts are continuing," Mr Bounkhoung said.

The most recently reported theft took place last month at Vat Phousi in the heart of Luang Prabang.

Most people agree the scale of the thefts is reason for officials from the relevant sectors to cooperate more closely and take more steps to tackle the problem.

Some officials fear the mounting thefts could affect the overall image of the World Heritage Site and even the tourism industry.

High market demand for valuable artefacts is increasing the likelihood Buddha images will be stolen. Mr Bounkhoung said an old statue could fetch 200,000 to 300,000 baht (48 million to 72 million kip).

He said novices living in Luang Prabang temples had been assigned to sleep close to the rooms in which Buddha statues were housed, but this would only solve the problem in the short term.

What was needed, he said, was for village authorities and temple guards to take more responsibility in preventing the theft of the statues.

Mr Bounkhoung said very few stolen Buddha images had been recovered even though most of them were registered in the province.

He congratulated one British man who brought four Buddha images back to Luang Prabang in 2007 after buying them from traders.

Two of the four images were found in Chiang Mai , Thailand , one in France and another in the UK .

There are known to be at least 20,000 Buddha images in Luang Prabang province, most of them in the main town.

Officials say there are ongoing thefts of Buddha images from Ting Cave , none of which have been registered by authorities.

Officials have met on several occasions to discuss the problem but the thefts continue.

From January to March this year, more than 200 Buddha images were stolen from four temples in Savannakhet province.

Most of them were less than 100 years old, were made of bronze and weighed 100 to 300 grammes.

-Vientiane Times/Asia News Network